My Life: Alexandria

Tuesday November 29, 2016

Peru Reflection

Happy (belated) Turkey Day!!

Peru was AWESOME! I really really enjoyed every ounce of my time in Peru. Here are the top 5 reasons Peru is one of my top 5 favorite ports we have been to:1. I learned how to surf!2. The food was just hands down some of my favorite food so far on this voyage3. The weather felt like fall back home (it's Peru's spring time right now) and was perfect weather, not too hot and not too cold!4. There was Christmas music EVERYWHERE!5. The people were beyond accommodating and understanding. So many people went out of their way to help me when I didn't even feel like I looked confused. The hospitality was amazing! I also liked how when I went on a walk in Mira Flores on the cliff side the parks along the way were so clean and the pathway!

Alright so if Peru sounds a lot like it was one of my top 5 favorite ports because of how much it reminded me of home.... well yes you're right! I am realizing more and more that as much as I love traveling, I love where I am from. Don't take this the wrong way, learning about all the culture and differences out in the world has been life changing... but as of right now, I'm ready to come back for my all time favorite Holiday - Christmas! So just getting a taste of home warmed my heart. :)

I'm not going to lie it was a bit weird not being home for Thanksgiving (missed the Tiso family A LOT ... just to give a shout out to y'all since we normally spend Thanksgiving together). However, SAS tried to make up for it and they did a pretty good job! I ended up going to a dinner and a show through SAS and the food was buffet style so yes it did feel like Thanksgiving back home because I almost had to be rolled out of the restaurant to the bus I was so full! At the dinner and a show there were about 6 Peruvian dance performances all from different time periods! It was amazing to see the authentic Peruvian dresses in the different time periods of Peru and what the dances symbolized :)

Alright... so the highlight was definitely that I learned to surf! It was so cool! Just to get up on the board and ride the wave - which yes I succeeded at and was pretty good at not to toot my own horn - made me feel alive! I can't wait to do it again sometime in the near future (hopefully in Hawaii soon!?).

So here's the bad news... in Brazil my friends and I went out one night to a dance party and I asked my friend to hold my phone in his, what I thought was secure, pocket and when we got back to the ship it was gone. :( So I am phone-less until I see my mom in San Diego on December 22nd. Well that's not that bad because I wasn't really using my phone anyways.. so here's the really bad news.... my camera broke. So I have decided to buy disposable cameras and get them developed when I get home instead of buy a new camera in the hopes that the camera place back home can fix my camera! But that means for Ecuador and Costa Rica I'll only have words to share no photos - but hopefully I can snag some photos from my friends :) It's unfortunate but it is what it is.

We will be in Ecuador December 1st! I am so excited because I have befriended the interport student from Ecuador who is traveling with us and her and I both share a love of coffee! She's going to give me all the best coffee places to go with in a reasonable distance of the ship and tell me where to buy the best coffee!!! AHhhhh so excited :) She's also been teaching about Ecuadorian coffee so we've been having a lot of fun together... I wish she was staying for the rest of the trip but I'm getting her info so we can be pen pals! Her name is Shiram and she's just the cutest most amazing woman!